The Strength of Fire
by maiiboro
Summary: Himura Ren felt like she had lived many lives. The first time she caused the woman who healed her to fear her. The second time she fought in war. The third time she was a farmer, living with a family who took her in. Now she searches for a girl who was disappeared. She realises that she can no longer run from her past as it comes in full circle. [DISCONTINUED]
1. Lesson 1

_**Lesson 1: When trying to hit on someone, make sure there is no distractions.**_

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 **[YAMAZAKI SAGARU]**

"STOP!"

A young black haired man ran after his culprit. Yamazaki Sagaru often worked as a spy but right now he was just trying to catch the damn man the Shinsengumi had been looking for. Finally, Yamazaki would be doing something to make his superiors proud. He could feel everyone looking at him and like always they usually try not to get involved.

He was running out of breath, after all he had been chasing this man for a few streets now and the police car was nowhere in sight. Luckily the man tripped and fell face down into the ground. He finally handcuffed the man and wiped sweat off his forehead, he noticed a woman sitting calmly while drinking tea- she must have been the one who tripped him!

"Um… thank you very much for helping me…" He said shyly. The tired Shinsengumi member was never good around ladies, especially beautiful women. Sitting in front of him was a woman with hair as dark as night and slightly tanned skin as smooth as his vice commander's uniform (very smooth!). He could see long, curled lashes framing her eyes but when she looked at him he was stunned again.

Red. Her eyes were as red as rubies or the blood dripping from the injured culprit's head. She took a drag of her cigarette and blew out the smoke, "No worries, Shinsengumi-san."

Her voice was husky and soothing, there was just something quite alluring about it. He gulped down his nervousness. Should he walk away and put the culprit in the car (that finally arrived!) or continue talking to her? What should he say?

"I-It's Yamazaki… Yamazaki Sagaru."

"Well, Officer Yamazaki, I think you should head off."

"Eh?"

"The man. He's bleeding a lot. He might die you know."

"CRAP! If he dies, I'm going to die too!"

Yamazaki swung the man onto his shoulders and ran off, quickly shoving the man in the car and forced the other officer to drive away. If the man died, Hijikata, the vice commander of the Shinsengumi would have his head or make him commit seppuku.

That was not a nice thought.

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 **A/N: Hello, this is the first chapter to 'The Strength in Fire', I hope you readers enjoy it! (If there is any...) I like writing OC characters and I try my best to make sure the characters don't go to OOC. I hope you review and leave your opinions! This is my first fanfic in a while (I stopped writing) so it might be bad but I hope you like it. The other Shinsengumi characters will not appear for a while but bear with me okay?** **This will be quite a long fanfic.**


	2. Lesson 2

_**Lesson 2: Help someone out if they're a little bit short of change**  
_

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 **[KAGURA]**

Sunny days were not good for Yatos but as long as they had their trusty umbrella they could prevail. The vermillion haired girl was walking through Edo and the last few weeks of summer was just passing through and soon the heat would die down, it was something that she looked forward to. Kagura stopped by a convenient store just to cool down. She walked over to the cashier to pay for her drink, she wanted to buy more but the coins in her pocket prevented her from otherwise.

"That'll be 150yen please."

She dug through her pocket, damn, only 25 yen short. The cashier looked at the girl with sorry eyes and shook his head. Already short tempered from the heat, she was about to burst but she grabbed the bottle to put it back. She would have to give Gin a scolding when she got back home.

"Hey little girl."

Kagura turned around to see a woman at the cashier with a basket full of food. Her ocean blue eyes met with her red ones, a similar colour to Kagura's dress. She looked at the woman curiously, she was above average height, not too tall, although her knee high, heeled boots added more height. If Gin-chan saw her he would be ogling. Yup. He would be ogling.

The woman was wearing yukata like clothes except her sleeves stopped at her elbows and the end of her dress stopped just above her knees. Her yukata like dress did not fold at the chest but had a collar that was pinned down with gold buttons. The top had a zipper which she left it open at the chest, revealing a white undershirt. The dress was dark red with gold trims. Around her stomach was a red obi with a thin black belt tied around it holding her katana although the sword looked smaller than an average katana. Overall, Kagura concluded, it was quite plain but she looked very nice in it.

"I'll buy you your drink, if you'll let me see your umbrella for a second."

Kagura was a bit suspicious but the woman seemed nice enough, plus, she really wanted that drink. The woman invited Kagura to the park where they sat on the bench and shared the food that she bought. While Kagura ate quickly the woman ate at an average pace, eating onigiris after onigiris. The 14 years old girl noticed that the woman was gloves- how strange, her hands must be really sweaty.

"Are you full?" She asked the girl who jumped at the sound of her voice. They had been eating in silence the entire time and she was so engrossed in her food that she forgot to speak.

"A little. Why did you share it with me?" She asked, chewing on more bread.

"I just felt like it," She replied, crossing her legs, "Now, our deal?"

Kagura looked at the purple umbrella beside her. The woman beside her didn't seem threatening at all but the little girl chuckled, "It's not a normal umbrella, it's pretty heavy."

The woman opened up her palm and gave her a smile in which Kagura returned with placing her umbrella in her hands. The black haired woman stood up but the umbrella still was touching the ground- that was to be expected, Yato umbrellas were used for combat and were extremely heavy.

The red eyed woman gripped it tightly and lifted it up effortlessly, Kagura's eyes widen. It was impossible! Humans had a hard time lifting it unless they were truly strong and that was extremely rare! The woman in front of her examined it, gently stroking the umbrella before handing it to the girl.

"That is a fine umbrella. You best take care of it."

"Who are you?" Kagura asked, quickly getting into a defensive mode as soon as she got her umbrella back.

"Me? I'm just a passer-by who's looking for someone. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Who are you looking for?"

"A girl, her name is Haru. The last thing I know is she was sold to Yoshiwara. Tell me little Yato girl… can you help me?"

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 **A/N: So second chapter :) I like writing in the different perspective of the characters. I hope this fic is alright so far. I've writing a bunch of chapters but now it's just going back and refining it. Like I said, this will be a long fic so bear with me. As always, leave reviews and what not, I really do like them!**


	3. Lesson 3

_**Lesson 3: Field trips are usually tiring.**_

 **[SAKATA GINTOKI]**

The silver haired man yawned. He wanted to go to the bar and get drunk already. Well, a 'proper' one at least. He was sitting at the bar downstairs with an old lady pouring his drink, the drink was good, just not the company. Kagura was eating again, copious amounts as usual and Shinpachi… well, Shinpachi was being Shinpachi. But he had to be here, he was waiting for someone.

"Oi, Kagura, when is this customer of yours coming?" Gin asked, taking another sip of his sake. Seita the 8 year old who had just started helping out at Otose's bar piped up.

"She said that she was looking for Yoshiwara right? Did she say why?"

"Nope. I told her about us and she said that she wants to hire us so I told her to meet us here! She's really nice and pretty too! Oi, Gin-chan, you better not perv on her okay?"

"Yeah, Yeah I won't. I don't trust your judgement sometimes Kagura!"

"But…," Kagura muttered, turning the attention onto the usually loud girl, "She's strong. She lifted my umbrella like it was nothing."

"Maybe she's one of you."

"No that's impossible! She was in the sun and it didn't affect her at all!"

They waited for a few more minutes. Now Gin was starting to get worried. Kagura's umbrella was not easy to lift and he even admitted that. He could lift it and he tried to make it look effortless but it was still damn heavy. That umbrella weighed a ton.

But before he could ponder further the door opened and he could hear Kagura's voice, "Oh, you're here!"

With his head still resting on his hand he took another sip and he glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the figure that had just walked in. His maroon eyes widen at the woman standing beside Kagura. Her pitch black hair was still the same but much longer, her skin was still the same, the only thing different were her clothes. He stared into her eyes as she returned the stare. He felt sick, as if his dinner was about to regurgitate and he felt his hands get sweaty.

 _CLASH_

The sound of Gin dropping his glass made everyone stare. The woman in front of him gave him a small smile, "Yo."

"R-Ren?"

"Gin-san, it has been a while."

* * *

 **[REN]**

"This is Yoshiwara?"

Ren looked at the scene in front of her. There was countless brothels with women being displayed like animals at a pet store, all beckoning for someone to pay for their time. The women were pretty all right, they smiled and giggled as they walked with their hands on the arms of the men who bought them for the night. Yoshiwara was an underground sex den, Ren knew it, but seeing it in person after searching for so long made her even angrier.

When she found out that Haru's grandfather, her only living relative had sold her to Yoshiwara she was angry. In a flash of rage she had killed him. She had always doubted herself, should she have let the grandfather live? Would Haru had wanted him to? But now she stood in Yoshiwara the only thing she doubted was whether or not she paused him enough pain. Her eyes darted to every woman who passed her, perhaps she was Haru, no… maybe the other one?

She felt a smack on her head and turned to face Gin who still had his hand on her head, "Stop gawking at the women. They'll either think you're a pervert or someone suspicious."

"I will find Haru and you go ahead with your business. Thank you."

Gin watched as Ren walked away. He nodded at Seita, Kagura and Shinpachi (who had taken upon themselves to dress up in kimonos). The three of them left and Gin walked towards Ren, just as he passed her he whispered.

"Meet us in 3 hours."

She looked at him with surprise but he ruffled her hair, "Don't think I'm going to let you disappear on me again Ren."

With that he left her standing there in the middle of the street. Nothing had change after all and she was glad that the man she knew was the same. He didn't need to tell her where to meet, she would know. She could spot that silver haired man from miles away. He would be waiting for her with that lazy expression on his face and a finger up his nose.

'3 hours, that should be enough time.' She thought.

She walked into a brothel to see a man standing there with his arms crossed waiting to greet her. Upon seeing a woman his eyes narrowed with curiosity, "What can I help you with?"

"I'm trying to find a girl. If I remember correctly she had brown hair and green eyes, around the age of 18. You know anyone like that?"

"Why would you want a girl? Lost sister you're trying to rescue?" He retorted, gripping the katana on his waist.

Ren smirked, "No, I just had a good time with her but I was so drunk I couldn't remember which brothel I walked into. If you give me the information I need, you'll be compensated."

The man rose his eyebrow and grinned. This was how business was done. She pulled out an envelope of money and waved around at him- business owners like this always fell for this crap.

"You got a name?"

"Haru."

"Oi girls! Do you know a Haru? Brown hair, green eyes?"

"No… sorry but we don't know anyone like that." One of the girls answered back after a few minutes of muttering.

"She's got a birthmark on her shoulder, it looks like two circles." She asked the ladies who just shook their head again but one of them smiled at Ren.

"How about you come play with us? I'm sure we'll give you a good time." She said with a wink.

"Thanks but no thanks."

Ren tossed the envelope of money to the man and continued. She had money, lots of it so she did this over and over again. It had been around 2 hours and she didn't have much time left. She had gotten a lead, someone told her about a brothel down the street, the one with the white sign and green lights. The prostitute was so sure that she was there, Ren was weary about trusting her but she didn't have a choice. She knew her description of Haru was vague but she didn't know if she had grown over the past few years- it had been 4 years since she last saw the girl. She finally found it, with a deep breath she entered a much nicer establishment this time and walked up to the woman who was at the front.

"How can I help you miss?"

"I'm looking for some company tonight." Ren said.

The woman in front of her tried to hide her surprise, it was rare to get women asking for other women's company but she would happily complied. More customers, more money.

"Prices range, go ahead and look at the girls." The woman said, lighting up a cigarette and pointed Ren to a small room with windows like bars and guards standing at the door. The guards let her go through and when she entered she smelled nothing but strong perfume and cigarette smoke. The women stared at her in confusion but they soon realised what she was there for. They didn't care, work was work, regardless of who they were with.

"Have you found your pick yet?" The old woman asked. Ren scanned the room at the smiling women but none looked like Haru. She continued looking but one woman caught her eye, she wasn't looking at Ren but simply staring out onto the streets. She had a long tobacco pipe hanging loosely from her lips as she blew out the smoke.

"Her."

"Haru!" the old woman called out.

She got up at sound of her name, brushing small flecks of ash off the kimono and walked across the room without her eyes leaving the floor. She stood in front of Ren but was only staring at her feet. She finally looked up at her customer and smiled, a smile which Ren knew was fake. While her lips smiled and her pretty face lit up, her eyes looked dead, "Hello, my name is Haru, I'm pleased to be in your company tonight."

Ren smiled at her and Haru froze. Her green eyes widen as she felt her knees start to go weak but she straighten them and kept strong. Ren reached for her hand, gently and followed the old woman to a room with the woman in tow.

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 **A/N: Ren finally found Haru! Yay! I love writing this story so I hope anyone reading likes it too. Please review, I want to know what people think of this story and whether or not I should continue publishing it. I think it's safe to say that every writer loves reviews. Shinsengumi will not appear just yet, this is the Yoshiwara in Flames arc so they don't come in at this time but they will appear later. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and I know I sound like a broken record but reviews! please! :)**


	4. Lesson 4

_**Lesson 4: Don't interrupt a serious conversation!**_

 **[HARU]**

The two of them sat in a room while being served sake. Ren could tell the younger girl was nervous but happy. Her hands were shaking as she poured Ren sake, she calmed down when Ren drank her sake and poured her some in return.

"R-Ren… what are you doing here?" Haru whispered, it wasn't on purpose but she was so nervous. Why was she here? She didn't want to get her hopes up because every time she did, they would be shot down. Yoshiwara is not a place for hopefuls.

"I've come to get you. I know what your grandfather did and I've been searching for you ever since." Ren explained. She noticed Haru's eyes darting at the door and Ren put her hand on her shoulder hoping to reinsure her.

"No one is outside."

"Ren… is that man alive? Is my… grandfather still alive?" Haru asked, her hands gripping on her kimono. She thought back to her grandfather, a man who she thought she could trust. They lived a modest and poor life but she was happy and she thought he was too but one day she came home, only to be kidnapped. She cried out for him, for Ren, for anyone to rescue her but no one came. Instead she found herself shoved in the back of a truck with other women, all tied up with tears running down their face. Her grandfather had sold her for money so he could retire and live a good life, she later found that out.

The black haired woman moved her hand from her shoulder to hold Haru's hand. It was still shaking slightly and much too cold. The young 18 year old girl wished she could feel Ren's hands but it was gloved and that wasn't unusual.

"No. You don't have to worry about him anymore."

Haru gasped, "Did you…"

Ren didn't turn away, instead she looked into Haru's green eyes and nodded. She didn't have to say anything and Haru knew what she meant. There was no remorse, nothing but flickers of anger that threatened to rise up if the subject wasn't changed. The younger girl sprung onto Ren, wrapping her arms around her neck. She wanted to stop the tears but she couldn't and soon, the older woman's shirt had patches of tears. She felt her hands soothingly rub her back and even through all the layers of clothes she could fell Ren radiate heat. That was something that Haru noticed about Ren, her body temperature was much higher than normal. She had once tried to question her about it but she brushed it off stating it was a birth defect. But it was comforting, the heat warmed her cold body.

She felt Ren's warm breath against her ear as she whispered, "Haru, I've come to take you away from here."

Haru felt her face flush, "N-No! You can't!"

"Why not?"

"No one escapes Yoshiwara," Haru muttered, "If someone escapes and it is not the Hyakka who finds you then they will slice anyone down."

Haru who was still in Ren's arms shivered at the thought but that only made Ren hold her tighter, "Then I'll kill them all."

"Ren, I know you are strong but you can't defeat them!"

Haru thought back to when she saw Ren work, it was many years ago. She had finally convinced the woman to live with them, she loved her grandfather but she would like some company. The older woman had gone to work in the fields which was rare, working in the fields was tough, back breaking work. Men and women alike could not last longer than a week but Ren was there for years. She lifted things so easily like it was effortless, she'd swing it on her shoulder and walk a mile to drop it off. Haru had seen her carry bags and bags of rice and walk to the houses to make the deliveries on foot when the wheelbarrow broke. But this kind of strength alone couldn't defeat those who hunted down runaway prostitutes.

"You have only seen a percentage of my skills Haru," Ren whispered, Haru couldn't see her but she felt her body tense, "Perhaps when you see what I can do you will be scared… you'll be too disgusted to see my face but I will get you out of here. It is the least I can do after all you have done for me."

"Ren…"

Suddenly Haru was pushed away from Ren, she landed on the floor, "Wh-What the-?"

Haru's eyes noticed the two kunais on the floor and it was suddenly came upon her that she was no longer alone. Two masked women stood in the room, each with dangerously sharp kunais in their hands. Ren took out her sword, holding it defensively across her body while her other hand blocking Haru's body.

"You won't be taking her away."

"The Hyakka!"

Someone must have alerted them of suspicious activity, the women of the Hyakka were not to be taken lightly. They were trained to be dangerous, Haru had seen their work. They moved as a pack and attacked as ferociously as wolves, they protected the women of Yoshiwara and now they were here to kill Ren. No, Ren could not die but despite thinking that Haru could do nothing but shake. She feared for her friend, "You have to run Ren… We're outnumbered… you have to go!"

But Ren was still, still crouched in a defensive position. She let out a small smile and turned around to face the younger girl, "I won't go without you. I've searched this for so long, I won't let you suffer anymore."

Ren turned back to face the two women who stood there, looking at each other and then back at the girl. She reached over to finish the sake that Haru had poured for her, "Unless you ladies want to die, you best be on your way. If it is a fight you want, it is a fight you'll get."

The two masked women jumped towards Ren and Haru let out a scream that was quickly extinguished. In a swift movement Ren had rushed forward, grabbing the women's face in each of her gloved hands she slammed them into the wall, completely destroying it. The walls crumbled, only leaving a gaping hole in the wall. The two Hyakka women were rendered unconscious, sharp kunais slipping from their hands as blood flowed down their face.

"R-Ren…"

The older woman strode towards Haru and picked her up, it was as if the heavy kimono was weightless and the brown haired girl was swung on the shoulders of her friend.

"Let's go. It's already been 3 hours and I'm late."

"W-What are you talking about? How did…"

Haru had never seen Ren move like that before. It was scary, her speed and strength shook her to the bone. But it wasn't just her speed and abnormally large strength that began to scare her, no, it was the look in her eyes. Something she had never seen before.

Thirst. Anger. Rage.

Haru began to think that the woman she thought she knew back then, was not the woman in front of her now.

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 **A/N: Lesson 4 updated! I hope any readers like it so please leave a review, even if it is a 'guest' review. Is this story even okay? should I continue? :/ Having doubts...**


	5. Lesson 5

_**Lesson 5: Always Keep a Watch on Hand**_

 **[REN]**

Ren's attention was drawn to an explosion. It wasn't the wall that she had destroyed either, it was a pipe. How strange. Gin and his friends flashed through her mind and she made her way towards it, hiding in the shadows and swiftly moving towards it with Haru still swung on her shoulders. The girl was now silent but she didn't question it. She would deal with questions later and now was not the time, she had sensed that there were people looking for her, after all, she did take down two Hyakka members and there would surely be more looking for her.

She arrived at the scene of the explosion and found a trail of rope along with a hole in the roof. She saw a slight flap of white cloth turn around at the corner and began to follow it, the explosion didn't seem like an accident and she was worried about the others.

Sneaking through the alleyway she found herself outside a door of a house and heard voices inside. Definitely Gin's. Carefully, she put Haru down and tried to reinsure her friend. Ren's hand reached to gently touch her shoulder but Haru jumped. Ren glanced into her green eyes that were glimmered with fear, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Before Haru could answer her she opened the door to see Gin, Shinpachi, Kagura and another woman. She was certainly a beautiful women with blonde hair and bright purple eyes, her face was scared and her eyes widen at the sight of the stranger.

"Sorry I'm late. I was caught up." Ren said lightly and made Gin sigh.

"You're always bad with timing."

"I'm just a bit late you know."

"You're an hour late."

Ren looked up at the ceiling, "There isn't any sun here, so I lost track of time."

"Stop making excuses you slack!" Gin joking retorted which made Ren shrug.

"So I'm guessing it was you who caused the explosion?" She glanced at the group in front of her, they looked a little beaten up but not anything too bad.

"Yeah… We couldn't exit and they took Seita-kun…" Shinpachi muttered.

At the mention of his name, Ren noticed that the little boy wasn't there. On the way to Yoshiwara he had told his story, about how the top courtesan was his mother and how he wanted to see her. An admirable boy, even at a young age.

"Oh, who did?" She asked curiously.

"The Harusame." The blonde woman answered.

Gin glanced around Ren at the girl behind her. She was pretty and he knew immediately who she was. The same green eyes as the girl in the photo, except her eyes were full of uncertainty, fear and confusion but yet a little hopeful.

"So I see you found her."

"Yeah, we were interrupted." Ren muttered, the blonde woman jumped up.

"Y-You took her? From the brothel? You… did you kill the Hyakka?" She asked angrily but Ren waved her off.

"Nah, just gave them a concussion and maybe… maybe I cracked their skulls? But they're not dead, although they'll probably have a really bad headache the next morning."

"Tsukuyo-san… d-don't kill her please…" Haru whispered, causing Tsukuyo to look at her with confusion. She knew who this girl was, when she was younger she tried to run away a bunch of times but failed. Who was the woman that stood in front of her that guarded her so protectively?

"So, what's the plan?" Ren asked Gin.

"I'm going to show these women what the sun's like."

"Hmph, seems like a good plan. I think I'll tag along," Ren said, she opened the door further and gesturing Haru to go in, "Haru, you stay here."

"W-What? I… I can go with you!"

"No. If you go, you'll get killed. You'll stay here until I come for you. When this is all over, we'll go get some taiyaki," Ren said, she slowly reached for her hand and unlike before, Haru did not flinch, "That's your favourite right?"

The brown haired girl began to cry but she couldn't say anything. All she could do was nod and grip her gloved hands tighter but that was all Ren needed. Ren walked out of the door but not before giving Haru a smile and closed the door shut.

Tsukuyo gave Ren a mask, which she put on, covering half of her face. They were walking towards the huge castle at the end of the street. The castle loomed over the other buildings of Yoshiwara, although it was simply a building it was intimidating.

"Ren-san, you don't have to do this…" Shinpachi said, Ren couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Gin, Kagura and Shinpachi all had bombs on their chest, making it look like they had abnormally large breasts. She eyed them for a second before shrugging.

She knew she didn't have to. She could take Haru and run but she also knew that she couldn't leave them. They were up against Yato, sure, Gin was a strong man- she had seen him in battle but she couldn't leave them.

"Ne Ren-nee chan… I have a question," Kagura started, "Why, why are you doing this?"

Ren looked at the girl and noticed that the group was looking at her. Why indeed? Perhaps it was the fact that she didn't want to leave Gin again. Maybe it was that she would feel guilty if she left them. But maybe it was the fact that she knew that if she ran, Haru would be hunted down. She would have to live a life in fear, the hopelessness and loneliness would never fully leave her eyes. She wanted to see the girl smile again, and not the practiced smiles but a real smile. Ren wanted to see her friend bathe in the sunlight in which she loved so much. That was all she wanted. Even if she would have to destroy this entire place she would, just to see her real smile just once more.

"I guess… I just hate seeing a beautiful flower trapped in such a shitty place."

"But they are Yatos! You could die!" Kagura exclaimed.

Ren patted her head, "Do you think this is the first Yato I'll be fighting?"

Gin looked at her oddly, they had fought in the war together but there were no Yatos in the war. He had just realised that he didn't really know much about her. He knew there was something strange about her, when he saw her fight, it was restrained, as if she was trying to contain something but he didn't know what. No one knew where she came from, where her parents were or why she was here. All he knew was she was an Amanto and that was that. He didn't even know what race or planet she was from.

Ren looked at her silver haired friend and ignore his questioning stare. They had finally made it inside the castle, only to be attacked by hundreds of kunais flying in their direction. She managed to evade all of them, picking up a few stray kunais just in case and ran up the stairs with the group. It was going to be a long fight. Ren knew it but before she could attack the Hyakka women Tsukuyo stopped her.

"Go."

"What? You're going to stay?"

"Yeah, don't worry, I ain't gonna waste my life in this place. Just go."

Gin threw her the rest of the bombs and took her pipe, "Make sure you follow us."

Tsukuyo nodded and the three of them began to move away. Ren looked at Tsukuyo with uncertainty, "You're really going to die."

"Don't worry. I won't."

Ren placed her hands on her shoulder, "I'll see you then. Don't die, I'd hate to see a good woman die."

With that, Ren left, following the rest of the group down the hairs. Tsukuyo could hear her heeled boots echoing through the hallway as it slowly faded away.

* * *

 **[AUTHOR]**

"Urgh, my damn arm." Abuto, the older Yato man grumbled as he wrapped up his arm. The stupid fight between Housen and Kamui cost him an arm and another member of the 7th division of the Harusame. He finished bandaging his arm when the door slid open. He turned his attention to a man standing in the hall way. Standing tall was a man cladded in dark red clothing. It wasn't the clothes that the Yato usually wore but instead it looked more militant with gold clasped buttons across his chest. He had multiple belts around his hips. On the right side of his jacket, sewn in gold was the name 'Himura/火村'

"Oh~ Abuto, what happened to your arm?" The man asked, smirking as he leaned against the wall.

"Akihiko, have you finished exploring?" He asked lazily.

"You didn't answer my question… This place isn't bad! When Housen dies I want it!" he said cheerfully, sitting down beside Abuto who rolled his eyes at the spoiled man.

"Oi, don't sit too close, you're fucking hot." He groaned and pushed the man away. Himura Akihiko ran hotter than usual and it wasn't a compliment on his physical appearance even though he was very attractive. It was like he had a fever all the time, except it was hotter than that. His skin felt like the heat of summer and summer and Yatos did not mix well.

"Oh Captain, I see you're unharmed. Damn, I was hoping you'd lose an arm or something… maybe your head?" Akihiko said looking at the vermillion haired, 18 year old man in his blue eyes. His face was smiling but his eyes said that he was completely not joking.

"Of course I won't be harmed. I'm the pirate king!" Kamui said happily, ignoring the look in Akihiko's eyes.

"Pirate King? We're not in One Piece you know? What do you want to be next? The Hokage?" Akihiko scoffed.

"Hmm… that seems like a good idea…"

"I WAS JOKING!"

Akihiko rolled his eyes. He didn't like the captain, not one bit. He hated the fact that he was the captain and he hated the fact that despite countless of duals they had never been able to declare a winner. The two of them were pure opposites. Kamui was a stereotypical Yato with fair skin, light eyes and hair. Himura Akihiko on the other hand had dark skin and even darker hair with eyes bright, flaming red. He loved the heat, Yatos didn't. What they had in common was strength and resilience. Every time he travelled with the 7th division he stood out like a sore thumb. While everyone walked under umbrellas he relished the heat. He hated the fact that he was under Kamui's command but they liked to fight and even though he didn't like to admit it but after years of travelling together they were one interesting companions. But he would never admit that out loud.

"You Yatos must love this place. You can indulge in food, be as lustful as ever and stay away from the sun. Can we hurry the hell up and get out of here? I heard earth's summer is almost ending, I want to catch some heat before it does." Akihiko said.

"You're the epitome of stereotypes Akihiko." Abuto pointed out.

"So are you guys!" He snapped back.

"I don't see what's so good about the sun. You Kaisaihito are so strange. Maybe that's why you all got wiped out!" Kamui said with a light hearted tone.

Akihiko forced himself to calm his heart, Kamui annoyed him to no end (even though he is a good opponent). It was true, Kamui was sort of right. But his people weren't wiped out because they were 'strange'.

Himura Akihiko was from a planet that was hot, there was nothing but sun and little rainfall. Some had called the planet a living hell. The sun was hot and the food was spicy. The trees and water there were not like earth and the people were not either. The Kaisaihito had dark skin, red eyes and dark hair. They lived in scorching heat and loved it, they were strong, conquers of planets and lived like kings. Well, he did anyways, after all, being the first born son of the Royal family had benefits.

Akihiko glared at the captain who glared back at him. He felt his fists clenching and felt his blood begin to boil. He didn't want to fight Kamui, not here. Frankly, the thought of the paying for repairs frightened him a bit. The Harusame would not pay for his bill… again.

"Ah~ I'm going for a walk." Abuto interrupted the glaring contest and got up from his seat on the tatami floors.

"Eh, it was just about to get fun!" Kamui pouted.

"I'd rather not be here when you guys try to kill each other. Losing another arm today is not in my plans. Plus, if you destroy Housen's castle he'll get even more pissed off."

"Then I'll accompany you."

"Why?" Abuto asked Akihiko who shrugged.

"I heard a commotion, I think we have some guests."

* * *

 _BOOM!_

"What the fuck?"

Ren looked up only to see an older man with brown-blond hair holding an umbrella. Yato. He stared at the three of them, his eyes bring drawn to her. He had dramatically entered the hallway by bursting through a few rooms. So much for not trying to destroy Housen's castle. The older Yato man stared at the group in front of him, apart from the familiar vermillion hair his eyes were drawn to a woman.

"Hm… those red eyes… I think I've seen them somewhere before." He noted, rubbing his chin and tapping his foot in contemplation. It was strange, she had never seen this man before and by the looks of the room, he was strong. Very strong. She looked at Kagura who returned her stare of concern.

She looked at the man who stepped closer in her direction, Kagura was about to attack him when he put up his hand, "No, no, I just want to observe… I feel like we've met."

"Is this a lame pick up line?"

"You're pretty, but I'm not hitting on you… Where the hell have I seen you before… Modelling?"

"Yeah, you're definitely hitting on me aren't you?"

"No, I'm not! Hm…" He murmured, stroking his chin as he stared into her eyes but he turned around when he heard a familiar voice.

"Oh, I haven't seen you in a while."

Ren paused, she knew that voice. It was the voice that could never leave her ears, a low humming sound that only grew louder in her nightmares. She felt her blood begin to boil and the hand that gripped onto the kunai hardened to a point where it dented the metal.

"Oh, Akihiko, did you get lost? What do you mean you haven't seen me in a while, I just saw you seconds ago."

"I got a little lost… but it's not you who I haven't seen in a long time."

Abuto looked up at her and then at the man a few meters behind him. He stepped out of their line of sight only to see the two glaring at each other and that was when he made the connection. They looked strangely similar. They had the same dark hair and the same strangely coloured eyes but their skin was much different. Akihiko was darker than her and the woman had a lighter skin tone than he did.

Akihiko loosely pulled out a necklace from his jacket and swung it on his finger. It was the gold pendant that he always wore, a symbol of his royal blood. The pendant he was so proud to wear. Everyone looked at the girl who had the same pendant hanging around her neck. The girl didn't move an inch but her eyes seemed more focused on the man and as seconds passed it seemed like she was ready to rip his head from his neck.

"Ren, it has been a while. Or should I call you little sister?"

* * *

 **A/N: New Chapter! Woop! This is quite a long chapter I think and yeah, a little back ground info! There will be more coming so stay tune and alert this story! Also please review :( I get sad when there is no reviews lol. I'm still a little bit emotionally fragile from watching the newest arc from Gintama like holy crap! The feels :( Anyways, I will update soon and yeah, leave a review please! I know I say this ALL the time but I like reviews and I get really happy when I get them. Also reviews encourages me to write so :)**


	6. Lesson 6

_**Lesson 6: Being a King is tough**_

* * *

 _(Many years ago)_

 _Hono no Wakusei was a planet that many could not live in. The sun was scorching during the day and even the night was hot and never fully dark. There were always two moons in the sky, illuminating the planet below it. There were trees and water even though it hardly rained and somehow the trees survived but they were not like earth trees- they thrived in the heat. Most Kaisai no Hitobito were dark skinned, some with light hair but most with dark hair paired with eyes ranging from bright red to dark maroon colours. They were prosperous. It was from trading their sweet fruits to other planets but also from conquering._

 _The Kaisaihito (another name for Kaisai no Hitobito) went around conquering planets after planets, taking their resources before burning it to the ground. Most were immune to fire and most loved the heat and some were special, born with a gift of wielding fire, creating a life force in their very hands. They had been doing that for decades but suddenly everything changed when the new King rose to power. He wanted peace. The new King Himura Takahiro who ruled after his father, Himura Hideaki. But his wish for peace only caused turmoil and had split his country into two._

 _During his darkest times he would go for walks, escaping the pressures of the palace and new kingdom he had been entrusted to rule. His children, Himura Akihiko and Shiori did not love him as much as they loved their grandfather. The new king found himself on more walks than sitting on the throne. The droning complaints bored him and he had learnt the art of falling asleep with his eyes open. He did grief briefly for his wife when she passed but he did not love her, it was simply a marriage for wealth._

 _One day on his walk he came across a strange pod. It seemed like it crashed here, he peeked inside the pod but found no one, but someone did leave a trail of blood. He followed that trail into the forest where he found a woman, laying under the shade of the flush trees. She was unconscious but the bleeding on her side seemed to have stopped._

 _He slowly approached her, her eyes snapped open as she hauled a heavy boulder at him._

" _Whoa! I'm not trying to hurt you!" He exclaimed, holding up both of his hands._

 _She looked at him with suspicion but sensing he had no harmful intentions she nodded and allowed him to walk closer._

" _What are you doing here Madame?" He asked._

" _My pod… it broke." She said, he noticed she was very weak._

 _He observed her, she was very pretty with fair skin and light brown hair. Her eyes were grey like the gloomy sky that rarely covered the bright blue sky of Hono no Wakusei. He noticed that her hand was gripping on the handle of something that was hidden behind the tree… an umbrella?_

" _Y-Yato?" He muttered. Her eyes widen in shock as she swung her umbrella large umbrella at him but he dodged it and grabbed her wrist._

" _You… You people are going to kill me right? Fuck… and I thought I could kill you first." She chuckled as the pressure on her wrist forced her to drop her umbrella._

" _No… I'm not going to kill you," The man stated, shocking the woman, "You are injured and you have done no harm. Why should I punish you when you have committed no crime?"_

 _The woman was silent. She only stared into his red eyes that were not like any she had seen. She had encountered a few Kaisaihito before, they were not friendly. His race and hers had been at war for years, each wanting to conquer planets. Yatos did not like them, and they did not like her kind. They were both strong races with strong warriors. While the Kaisaihito were undeniably strong the Yato were stronger but the Yato could not stand the heat but the Kaisaihito loved it. He picked up her umbrella with a little of effort he opened it and placed it over her head._

" _Come, I will bring you back to my home. I will give you medical help and once you're healed, you may take a ship to wherever you want to go. What's your name by the way? I don't want to keep calling you woman all the time." He said, offering his hand to her._

 _She hesitated but answered, "Yuki."_

" _That's a nice name, although I've never seen snow before. I'm Takahiro."_

 _He placed his heated hands around her body, propping her up on her feet. She walked with him under the shade, it was still too hot for her but she prevailed, with the shade she felt a little strength return- although the heat from his body was not helping._

" _Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?"_

 _The man was silent for a while but he finally answered her, "I want to start a new age. An era where we are not at war but at peace. I am tired of war and fighting, I am tired of the funerals and sadness, why are we fighting? For wealth and prosperity? This planet already has that, we have gotten too greedy."_

" _And how are you going to do that? How can one man create a new era?" She asked._

 _He smiled, "Because I am the king."_

 _She looked at him and blinked, staring at the man in disbelief, "What? King?"_

 _She observed him, he wasn't wearing fancy clothes but rather old beige coloured clothes that other civilians wore. When she imagined a king she thought of gold and jewels but this man was the opposite. She didn't believe him._

" _I came for a walk, not to show off. Ah, we are here."_

 _She looked ahead only to see a grand palace, a castle so big that she was awestruck. This man was serious, he wasn't joking that he was a king. She was sure he would take her in to kill her and then publicly execute her for invading his land. Her mind was full of thoughts but it stopped when she felt him squeeze her tighter, "Don't worry. If they disobey me, I guess I can just kill them." He said with a smile._

" _If you want to start a new era of peace maybe you should start with yourself you stupid king!"_

* * *

 __ **A/N: A little flash back chapter! I will be posting more but will take some intervals in between _._ I am extremely grateful to be getting followers and views but I will be even MORE grateful if I get reviews :) I love them so please even if it's a short sentence just leave one behind before you click away :) Thank you guys for reading. **


	7. Notification of Discontinuation

Hi everyone! Thanks for being reading the story so far. This story has been discontinued, I don't like where the story is going. I won't continue this story in the future, sorry about that

I do have another story that I'm working on. It's in the Naruto universe and it's a Kakashi and OC. If you would like to have a read please feel free to do so. I hope you'll stay tune for some more stories, I'm thinking of doing small one-shots. I might end up working on another Gintama fic, please be patient, I have something in mind that is similar to this story but I will be changing some parts of the character and the story line. I would change it now but it wouldn't make sense. I have a plan to write in the same character (some differences) but with a vastly different story from this one. I hope you stick around my page and read when I post it. Thanks for reading but unfortunately I've decided to discontinue the story.

x


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